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Two novel N-acyl amidated bile acids, N-methyltaurine conjugated cholic acid and N-methyltaurine conjugated deoxycholic acid, were found to be major biliary bile acids in two species of angelfish the regal (Pygoplites diacanthus) and the blue-girdled (Pomacanthus navarchus) angelfish. The identification was based on their having MS and NMR spectra identical to those of synthetic standards. A survey of biliary bile acids of 10 additional species of angelfish found 7 with N-methyltaurine conjugation. In all 12 species, conjugated deoxycholic acid (known to be formed by bacterial 7-dehydroxylation of cholic acid) was a major bile acid. In all previous studies of biliary bile acids in fish, deoxycholic acid has been present in only trace proportions. In addition, bile acid conjugation with N-methyltaurine has not been detected previously in any known vertebrate. N-methyltaurine conjugated bile acids are resistant to bacterial deconjugation and dehydroxylation, and such resistance to bacterial enzymes should aid in the maintenance of high concentrations of bile acids during lipid digestion. Our findings suggest that these species of angelfish have a novel microbiome in their intestine containing anaerobic bacteria, and describe the presence of N-methyltaurine conjugated bile acids that are resistant to bacterial attack.

We developed a sensitive, reliable, and accurate LC/ESI-MS/MS method for measurement of 3β-sulfooxy-7β-N-acetylglucosaminyl-5-cholen-24-oic acid and its glycine and taurine amides in urine. This atypical C24 bile acid has been reported previously to be present in the urine of patients with Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease. In the method, targeted analytes are concentrated at the front edge of a trapping column, Shim-pack MAYI-C8, which permits elimination of contaminating molecules in the urinary matrix. The trapped analytes are then eluted, separated on a YMC-Pack Pro C18, and quantified with MS/MS using selected reaction monitoring. The method could detect (as amount injected) 2pg of nonamidated 3β-sulfooxy-7β-N-acetylglucosaminyl-5-cholen-24-oic acid, 2pg of its glycine-amide, and 0.6pg of its taurine-amide, and is linear up to 300pg. The method was then used to measure the three analytes in the urine of NPC patients (N=2), 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency patients (N=2), and healthy volunteers (N=8). Measurable concentrations of all three analytes were present in all subjects. The urinary concentration of the sum of all three analytes was four hundred times greater in the 3month NPC patient and 40times greater in the adult patient than that of healthy volunteers. The markedly elevated urinary concentration of 3β-sulfooxy-7β-N-acetylglucosaminyl-5-cholen-24-oic acid and its amides in NPC patients suggests that these compounds may be valuable biomarkers for detection of NPC disease.

A key intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway by which C(24) bile acids are formed from cholesterol has long been considered to be varanic acid, (24ξ,25ξ)-3α,7α,12α-24-tetrahydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid. The (24R,25R)-epimer of this tetrahydroxy bile acid, in the form of its taurine N-acyl amidate, was thought to be the major biliary bile acid in lizards of the family Varanidae. We report here that a major biliary bile acid of three lizard species - the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), Gray's monitor (Varanus olivaceus), and the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) - is a novel epimer of varanic acid. The epimer was shown to be (24R,25S)-3α,7α,12α,24-tetrahydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid (present in bile as its taurine conjugate). The structure was established by mass spectroscopy and by (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic spectroscopy, as well as by synthesis of the compound.

The accurate analysis of trace components in complex biological matrices requires the use of reliable internal standards. For liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis, the stable isotope-labeled analogues of the analyte molecules are the most appropriate internal standards. In this paper the synthesis of the 3- and 21-monosulfates of allo-tetrahydrocorticosteroids labeled with four or five deuterium atoms is described. The principal reactions used were (1) hydrogen-deuterium exchange reaction of active methylene groups adjacent to 3- and 11-oxo group of 17,20;20,21-bismethylenedioxy derivatives of 5α-3-ketosteroids and/or 5α-11-ketosteroids with NaOD in CH(3)OD followed by reduction with NaBD(4), (2) epimerization of the 3β-hydroxy group into a 3α configuration, (3) sulfation of hydroxy groups at C-3 or C-21 in the resulting substrates with sulfur trioxide-trimethylamine complex, and (4) removal of 17,20;20,21-bismethylenedioxy groups with hydrogen fluoride in ethanol. Isotopic purity was found to be satisfactory by MS, and NMR properties of the new compounds were tabulated. The labeled compounds can be used as internal standards in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry assays for clinical and biochemical studies.

Bile alcohols and bile acids from gallbladder bile of the Arapaima gigas, a large South American freshwater fish, were isolated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The structures of the major isolated compounds were determined by electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance using (1)H- and (13)C-NMR spectra. The novel bile salts identified were six variants of 2-hydroxy bile acids and bile alcohols in the 5α- and 5β-series, with 29% of all compounds having hydroxylation at C-2. Three C27 bile alcohols were present (as ester sulfates): (24ξ,25ξ)-5α-cholestan-2α,3α,7α,12α,24,26-hexol; (25ξ)-5β-cholestan-2β,3α,7α,12α,26,27-hexol, and (25ξ)-5α-cholestan-2α,3α,7α,12α,26,27-hexol. A single C27 bile acid was identified: (25ξ)-2α,3α,7α,12α-tetrahydroxy-5α-cholestan-26-oic acid, present as its taurine conjugate. Two novel C24 bile acids were identified: the 2α-hydroxy derivative of allochenodeoxycholic acid and the 2β-hydroxy derivative of cholic acid, both occurring as taurine conjugates. These studies extend previous work in establishing the natural occurrence of novel 2α- and 2β-hydroxy-C24 and C27 bile acids as well as C27 bile alcohols in both the normal (5β) as well as the (5α) "allo" A/B-ring juncture. The bile salt profile of A. gigas appears to be unique among vertebrates.

Previous work from this laboratory has reported the biotransformation of bile acids (BA) into the thioester-linked glutathione (GSH) conjugates via the intermediary metabolites formed by BA:CoA ligase and shown that such GSH conjugates are excreted into the bile in healthy rats as well as rats dosed with lithocholic acid or ursodeoxycholic acid. To examine whether such novel BA–GSH conjugates are present in human bile, we determined the concentration of the GSH conjugates of the five BA that predominate in human bile. Bile was obtained from three infants (age 4, 10, and 13 months) and the BA–GSH conjugates quantified by means of liquid chromatography (LC)/electrospray ionization (ESI)-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (MS) in negative-ion scan mode, monitoring characteristic transitions of the analytes. By LC/ESI-MS, only primary BA were present in biliary BA, indicating that the dehydroxylating flora had not yet developed. GSH conjugates of chenodeoxycholic and lithocholic acid were present in concentrations ranging from 27 to 1120 pmol/ml, several orders of magnitude less than those of natural BA N-acylamidates. GSH conjugates were not present, however, in the ductal bile obtained from 10 adults (nine choledocholithiasis, one bile duct cancer). Our results indicate that BA–GSH conjugates are formed and excreted in human bile, at least in infants, although this novel mode of conjugation is a very minor pathway.

Acyl-adenylates and acyl-CoA thioesters of bile acids (BAs) are reactive acyl-linked metabolites that have been shown to acylate the thiol group of glutathione (GSH); the reaction is catalyzed by glutathione S -transferase (GST) and the product is a thioester-linked BA-GSH conjugate. Such GSH conjugates are present in bile in lithocholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid dosed-rats. To determine whether such novel BA-GSH conjugates are present in the bile of normal rats, we first synthesized the GSH conjugates of the major and minor biliary BAs of the rat and defined their MS and proton NMR properties. We then analyzed the BA-GSH composition in the bile of anesthetized biliary fistula rats by means of liquid chromatographic separation and electrospray ionization–linear ion trap mass spectrometric detection in negative- and positive-ion scan modes, monitoring characteristic transitions of the analytes. GSH conjugates of cholic, ω-muricholic, hyodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, 12-oxolithocholic, and lithocholic acids were present with concentrations in the range of 1.4–2.8 nmol/ml, some four orders of magnitude less than those of natural BA N -acyl amidates. Our results indicate that BA-GSH conjugates are formed and excreted in bile in the healthy rat, although this novel mode of BA conjugation is a very minor pathway.

In Niemann-Pick disease, type C1, increased amounts of 3beta,7beta-dihydroxy-5-cholenoic acid are reported to be present in urinary bile acids. The compound occurs as a tri-conjugate, sulfated at C-3, N-acetylglucosamidated at C-7, and N-acylamidated with taurine or glycine at C-24. For sensitive LC-MS/MS analysis of this bile acid, a suitable internal standard is needed. We report here the synthesis of a satisfactory internal standard, 3beta-sulfooxy-7beta-hydroxy-24-nor-5-cholenoic acid (as the disodium salt). The key reactions involved were (1) the so-called "second order" Beckmann rearrangement (one-carbon degradation at C-24) of hyodeoxycholic acid (HDCA) 3,6-diformate with sodium nitrite in a mixture of trifluoroacetic anhydride and trifluoroacetic acid, (2) simultaneous inversion at C-3 and elimination at C-6 of the ditosylate derivatives of the resulting 3alpha,6alpha-dihydroxy-24-nor-5beta-cholanoic acid with potassium acetate in aqueous N,N-dimethylformamide, and (3) regioselective sulfation at C-3 of an intermediary 3beta,7beta-dihydroxy-24-nor-Delta(5) derivative using sulfur trioxide-trimethylamine complex. Overall yield of the desired compound was 1.8% in 12 steps from HDCA.

Experiments were performed to compare the regioselective hydroxylation of the isopropyl C-H bond at C-25 in 5alpha-cholestan-3beta-yl acetate by in situ generated dimethyldioxirane, methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane, hexafluoro(dimethyl)dioxirane or ethyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (ETDO). The dioxiranes were generated from the corresponding ketones and potassium peroxymonosulfate in aq. NaHCO(3), pH 7.5-8.0. Of the four dioxiranes examined, partially fluorinated, sterically bulky ETDO displayed the highest reactivity and regioselectivity. Using in situ generated ETDO, a facile, synthesis was developed for two naturally occurring oxysterols, i.e., 25-hydroxycholesterol, as well as its 3-sulfate (overall yield of the sulfate, 24%) and 24-oxocholesterol (16%), starting from cholesterol.

The chemical synthesis of 3beta,7beta-dihydroxy-5-cholen-24-oic acid, triply conjugated by sulfuric acid at C-3, by N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) at C-7, and by glycine or taurine at C-24, is described. These are unusual, major metabolites of bile acid found to be excreted in the urine of a patient with Niemann-Pick disease type C1. Analogous double-conjugates of 3beta-hydroxy-7-oxo-5-cholen-24-oic acid were also prepared. The principal reactions involved were: (1) beta-d-N-acetylglucosaminidation at C-7 of methyl 3beta-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy (TBDMSi)-7beta-hydroxy-5-cholen-24-oate with 2-acetamido-1alpha-chloro-1,2-dideoxy-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-d-glucopyranose in the presence of CdCO(3) in boiling toluene; (2) sulfation at C-3 of the resulting 3beta-TBDMSi-7beta-GlcNAc with sulfur trioxide-trimethylamine complex in pyridine; and (3) direct amidation at C-24 of the 3beta-sulfooxy-7beta-GlcNAc conjugate with glycine methyl ester hydrochloride (or taurine) using 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride as a coupling agent in DMF. The structures of the multi-conjugated bile acids were characterized by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with an electrospray ionization probe under the positive and negative ionization modes.

This paper describes a method for the chemical synthesis of 7α,12α-dihydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (1a) and its biological precursor, 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (1b), both of which are key intermediates in the major pathway of bile acid biosynthesis from cholesterol. The principal reactions involved were (1) building of the cholesterol (iso-octane) side chain by 3-carbon elongation of the cholane (iso-pentane) one, (2) oxidation sequence to transform the 3α-hydroxy group of the steroidal A/B-ring to the desired 4-en-3-one system, and (3) appropriate protection strategy for hydroxy groups in the positions at C-7 and C-12 in the steroid nucleus. The absolute structure of 1a and 1b were confirmed by NMR and X-ray crystallography. The targeted compounds 1a and 1b, prepared in 11 steps from 2a and 2b respectively, should be useful for biochemical studies of bile acid biosynthesis or clinical studies of bile acid metabolism, as plasma levels of 1b (also termed C4) have been shown to correlate highly with the rate of bile acid biosynthesis in man.

Three C 27 bile acids were found to be major biliary bile acids in the capuchinbird ( Perissocephalus tricolor ) and bare-throated bellbird ( Procnias nudicollis ), both members of the Cotingidae family of the order Passeriformes. The individual bile acids were isolated by preparative RP-HPLC, and their structures were established by RP-HPLC, LC/ESI-MS/MS and NMR as well as by a comparison of their chromatographic properties with those of authentic reference standards of their 12α-hydroxy derivatives. The most abundant bile acid present in the capuchinbird bile was the taurine conjugate of C 27 (24 R ,25 R )-3α,7α,24-trihydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid, a diastereomer not previously identified as a natural bile acid. The four diastereomers of taurine-conjugated (24 ξ ,25 ξ )-3α,7α,24-trihydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid could be distinguished by NMR and were resolved by RP-HPLC. The RRT of the diastereomers (with taurocholic acid as 1.0) were found to be increased in the following order: (24 R ,25 R ) S ,25 R ) S ,25 S ) R ,25 S ). Two epimers (25 R and 25 S ) of C 27 3α,7α-dihydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid were also present (as the taurine conjugates) in both bird species. Epimers of the two compounds could be distinguished by their NMR spectra and resolved by RP-HPLC with the (25 S )-epimer eluting before the (25 R )-epimer. Characterization of the taurine-conjugated (24 R ,25 R )-3α,7α,24-trihydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid and two epimers (25 R and 25 S ) of 3α,7α-dihydroxy-5β-cholestan-27-oic acid should facilitate their detection in peroxisomal disease and inborn errors of bile acid biosynthesis.

In mammals, unconjugated bile acids formed in the intestine by bacterial deconjugation are reconjugated (N-acylamidated) with taurine or glycine during hepatocyte transport. Activation of the carboxyl group of bile acids to form acyl-adenylates is a likely key intermediate step in bile acid N-acylamidation. To gain more insight into the process of bile acid adenylate formation, we first synthesized the adenylates of five common, natural bile acids (cholic, deoxycholic, chenodeoxycholic, ursodeoxycholic, and lithocholic acid), and confirmed their structure by proton NMR. We then investigated adenylate formation by subcellular fractions of rat liver (microsomes, mitochondria, cytosol) using a newly developed LC method for quantifying adenylate formation. The highest activity was observed in the microsomal fraction. The reaction required Mg(2+) and its optimum pH was about pH 7.0. In term of maximum velocity (V(max)) and the Michaelis constant (K(m)), the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme under the conditions used was highest with cholic acid of the bile acids tested. The formation of cholyl-adenylate was strongly inhibited by lithocholic and deoxycholic acid, as well as by palmitic acid; ibuprofen and valproic acid were weak inhibitors. In cholestatic disease, such adenylate formation might lead to subsequent bile acid conjugation with glutathione or proteins.

Crystal structures of p-xylene-crystallized deoxycholic acid (3alpha,12alpha-dihydroxy-5beta-cholan-24-oic acid) and its three epimers (3beta,12alpha-; 3alpha,12beta-; and 3beta,12beta-) have been solved. Deoxycholic acid forms a crystalline (P21) complex with the solvent with a 2:1 stoichiometry whereas crystals of the three epimers do not form inclusion compounds. Crystals of the 3beta,12beta-epimer are hexagonal, whereas the 3alpha,12beta-and 3beta,12alpha-epimers crystallize in the P2(1)2(1)2(1) orthorhombic space group. The three hydrogen bond sites (two hydroxy groups, i. e. O3-H, and O12-H, and the carboxylic acid group of the side chain, O24bO24a-H) simultaneously act as hydrogen bond donors and acceptors. The hydrogen bond network in the crystals was analyzed and the following sequences have been observed: two chains (abcabc... or acbacb... ) and two rings (abc or acb), which constitute a complete set of all the possible sequences which can be drawn for an intermolecular hydrogen bond network formed by three hydrogen bond donor/acceptor sites forming crossing hydrogen bonds. The orientation of O3-H (alpha or beta) determines the sequence of the acceptor and the donor groups involved in the pattern: O24a --> O12 --> O3 --> O24b when it is alpha and O24a --> O3 --> O12--> O24B when it is beta. These observations were used to predict the hydrogen bond network of p-xylene-crystallized 3-oxo,12alpha-hydroxy-5beta-cholan-24-oic acid. This compound has two hydrogen bond donor and three potential hydrogen bond acceptor sites. According to the previous sequence set, this compound should crystallize in the monoclinic P21 system, should form a complex with the solvent, O24b should not participate in the hydrogen bond network, and the chain sequence O24a --> O12 --> O3 would be followed. All predictions were confirmed experimentally.

The preparation of 24-nor-5β-chol-22-enes from formyloxy-5β-cholanic acids by oxidative decarboxylation with lead tetraacetate is described. NMR data is presented with other physical constants for the norcholenes derived from cholic, chenodeoxycholic, ursodeoxycholic, hyodeoxycholic, and deoxycholic acids. The facile synthesis of these norcholenes demonstrates the applicability of the formyloxy protecting group to oxidative decarboxylations in the bile acid series.